Trump announces layoffs at its two Atlantic City casinos

The operator of Trump Taj Mahal and Trump Plaza plans to lay off an unspecified number of employees at the two Atlantic City casinos, a spokesman for the company said today.

The Trump Entertainment Resorts spokesman, Brian Cahill, said the company also has "recalibrated the wages for a small percentage of our on-call and part-time personnel."

He declined to provide other details beyond an e-mailed statement, which likened the company's situation to that of other Shore businesses and casino properties after Labor Day, while also noting the pay of full-time employees has not been reduced.

"Unfortunately, we need to react to the current market situation," Cahill said.

The news was first reported this morning by The Press of Atlantic City.

Trump has been hit hard by a steep six-year decline in gaming revenue that has besieged Atlantic City, as have its fellow casino operators amid rising competition from surrounding states. Second-quarter operating profits for Taj Mahal and Trump Plaza fell 73 percent and 98 percent, respectively, from last year, gaming regulators said last month.

The operator was in talks to sell Trump Plaza, which managed just $211,000 in profits during the quarter, but the $20 million deal was put on hold in April. At the time, the California developer that hoped to buy the 29-year-old casino had been "unable to obtain a release of the mortgage held by their senior secured lender," according to the newspaper.

Trump in 2011 sold Trump Marina to Landry's Inc., which has since renovated and rebranded the property as the Golden Nugget Atlantic City.

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Joshua Burd

Josh Burd covers real estate, economic development and sports and entertainment. Before joining NJBIZ in 2011, he spent four years as a metro reporter in Central Jersey. His email is joshb@njbiz.com and he is @JoshBurdNJ on Twitter.